England can make a convincing claim to possessing the most devastating collection of attacking midfielders in world football. In Jude Bellingham, Cole Palmer and Phil Foden, they can call upon a trio of global superstars who have delivered on some of the game’s biggest stages.
With just over four months until the FIFA World Cup 2026™ gets under way, however, another exceptional talent is in firm contention to seize the No10 role in North America.
Morgan Rogers has been named in the starting XI for four of England’s past five matches, with coach Thomas Tuchel finding the 23-year-old’s form irresistible. The Aston Villa star has lit up the Premier League this season, delivering a series of thrilling match-defining moments to inspire the club’s unlikely title challenge.
FIFA shines the spotlight on Rogers’ rapid rise and the qualities which make him a frightening prospect for opposition defences.
Building on brilliance
Rogers headed into this season off the back of a breakout campaign in which he racked up 30 goal contributions (14 goals, 16 assists) in 54 Villa appearances across all competitions.
That was his first full season in the Premier League, having signed for Villa from second-tier Middlesbrough halfway through the previous term.
Any concerns about his ability to maintain such standards have been emphatically laid to rest. He is Villa’s leading scorer (9) and leading assist-maker (7) so far in 2025/26, with several of his goals spectacular long-range efforts. Those unstoppable howitzers have become his trademark, but his all-round game has also hit new levels.
Pacy, powerful and courageous, Rogers has excellent close control and can take games by the scruff of the neck with his driving runs forward. Off the ball, he is a relentless presser with seemingly limitless energy and enthusiasm. All told, Rogers is a coach’s dream.
“He’s a fighter,” said Villa boss Unai Emery after Rogers scored a sensational double in a December’s 2-1 win over Manchester United. “He’s a good guy, a very good guy. His attitude every day is really fantastic.”
How it began
Rogers’ journey to becoming a Premier League star began in earnest when he joined the academy of boyhood team West Bromwich Albion aged seven.
Having honed his skills and progressed through the age ranks with the club, he shone in their run to the FA Youth Cup semi-finals in 2019. They were beaten by Manchester City in that last-four clash, but Rogers impressed to such a degree that the Premier League giants moved to sign him up.
After joining City, he would have a successful loan spell with Lincoln City followed by a less fruitful temporary stint at Bournemouth. He returned to his parent club ahead of the 2022/23 season, but breaking into Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering team proved an impossible task as City soared to a Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League treble.
Another loan – this time at Blackpool – came and went, before Rogers made a decision which proved transformative. Aged 20 and steadfast in his belief he required regular senior-level minutes to advance his game, in July 2023 he joined Championship team Middlesbrough on a permanent deal.
Rogers flourished, notably scoring five times as Boro reached the semi-finals of the League Cup. His exhilarating displays demanded attention and, just six months after dropping a division in search of first-team football, he was back in Premier League as Aston Villa made their move. It was one they wouldn’t regret.
Student of the game
A football-obsessive as a kid, Rogers prided himself on his knowledge of the beautiful game.
“I’d be able to name random players across the world and stuff,” he recalled in an interview with The FA. “I’d know little details that other people wouldn’t know and try to be the cleverest person in the room when it came to football.”
That deep-rooted football intelligence is evident on the field too. Rogers’ ability to take the ball on the turn, dribble at the heart of defences and get shots away make him a natural in the No10 role. For Villa, however, he has also performed admirably from the left wing and even as a centre-forward.
His versatility is an asset sure to appeal to England boss Tuchel as he strives to shape a team capable of going all the way at the World Cup.
With the options at Tuchel’s disposal, moving Rogers out wide could accommodate the likes of Bellingham, Palmer or Foden in a central attacking berth. Real Madrid ace Bellingham could also potentially move into a deeper midfield role to free up Rogers at No10.
Bellingham and Rogers have played together for England under Tuchel before, but the German appeared circumspect when asked about selecting them both in his starting XI moving forward.
“At the moment the competition is between the two of them,” said the 52-year-old, speaking after England’s November internationals. “They’re friends, so this can also be a friendly competition. They don’t have to be enemies, and you don’t have to hate each other. Can they play together? Yes, but in a different structure… at the moment it is not the moment to change our structure.”
The world awaits
While Rogers’ immediate attention is on helping Villa keep pace with Arsenal and Manchester City at the top of the Premier League, the World Cup will soon come racing into view.
England will kick off their campaign by facing Croatia in a mouthwatering Dallas duel on 17 June, before taking on Ghana in Boston and Panama in New York New Jersey.
That Rogers is a nigh-on certainty to be in the Three Lions’ squad – and increasingly likely to be a starter – represents a meteoric rise for a player who only made his Premier League debut in February 2024.
On the prospect of lining up for his country in North America, Rogers recently told the BBC: “Everyone growing up as a kid wants to play in the World Cup. You can’t help but know that at the end of the season England are competing in the World Cup to try and win a World Cup. You get that excitement, that buzz. It’s the pinnacle of football.”
It’s a stage Rogers looks tailor-made for.
